Red in Dublin

That was close. How many times have I said Stevie to the rescue? Here's another one to add to the collection. Torres had opened the scoring with another amazing goal where he slalomed his way through the Derby defense to finish coolly into the bottom left hand corner. He doesn't score too many scruffy ones. But after that we made hard work of it. Sami came off injured and Riise went to centre half. He doesn't look comfortable there and the whole defense looked unstable. Derby got one back and it was the shock we needed to jolt us back into life. Stevie pulled his socks up and got stuck into them. He cracked a great effort off the bar and then with a minute to go he ran 60 yards to set up and score the winner. Nice one my son.

On the face of it the Derby result isn't very good. But when you look at it, it's another away win where we might have slipped last year. The fact that Chelsea and Arsenal slipped up at Villa and Portsmouth respectively, means that we're in a better position in the league. If we win our game in hand we'll go to third above Chelsea. We'd still be 6 points behind Utd but as I've said recently, all we can do is keep plugging away and hope that the others slip up. If we manage to discover a way to win away to the other top 4 clubs then we'll be in a good position to challenge. I'm not saying "we're going to win the league", but I don't think that our challenge is as dead and buried as some think.

The trip to Eastlands on Sunday afternoon is looking fairly daunting now. City aren't as on form as the were earlier in the season. I watched them play Blackburn last night and they really let the game slip from their grasp. Petrov was superb and will cause us problems as will Elano. The fact that Sami looks unlikely to make it is worrying. Hobbs may come in but hopefully Agger is fit enough to start. I know that Rafa doesn't want to risk him after rushing him back too early the last time. If Sami or Agger play then we should have enough but it's a big ask of Hobbs if he has to start.

Rafa has started taken advantage of the post Crimbo sales and bought us a Scottish winger. He's 16, comes from Ross county and is called Alex Cooper. He was impressed with his treatment at the club when he visited Anfield, which is good to hear.

Online rumours have us linked to a move for David Albelda on a free. It sounds like he's definitely leaving Valencia after a bust up with Koeman. I can't see how we need him unless we're getting rid of Momo. He's 30 now but is still a good player and was great for Rafa at Valencia a few years back. He can also cover in defence which is handy given our current crisis there.

I'm off to the wonderful city of Barcelona for a few days on Sunday so my City report will probably be late next week.

Fins ara.

Just what the doctor ordered. 4-1 at home to Portsmouth and we were coasting for most of the game. Yossi opened the scoring in the first half with a stunning volley hit with the outside of his right boot after a great cross from Harry on the left. Yossi is very good and drifting inside and linking up the play. He is also capable of delivering goals as he showed here, but it would be good to see a bit more of this from him. Maybe I'm being over critical as he's already scored 6 this season. Good to see Kewell getting involved by setting it up.

The second goal was a bit of a comedy of errors. Torres advanced into the box and was faced with Distin and Campbell. Campbell swiped at the ball which rebounded off Distin's leg to beat James at the far post. Portsmouth did get one back but even then, we had the match under control to a large degree.



Enter El Niño. The kid is unstoppable. He scored two today and could have had more. As we've seen, he causes panic in defenses. It paid off here as he took full advantage. He's now scored 8 in the league and 14 in all comps from 18 starts. I thought that it would take him some time to adapt but I was wrong. He's taken to the league like a duck to water despite what the doubters were sceptical beforehand. His first was a crisp strike from the edge of the area after Babel had run at the pompey defense. His second was even better. Carra hit a lovely ball which found Gerrard on the left edge of the area. His header back into the middle dropped to El Niño who hit a great volley which left James with no chance. The kid goes from strength to strength.

Babel came on and did his usual trick of causing havoc to a tired and stretched defense. He didn't manage to score this time but his L4 education is coming along nicely. Rafa is doing the right thing with him and I fancy him to be making regular starts by the end of this season or the start of the next one. There is still some debate over his best position, whether it's on the wing or up front.

The champions league last 16 draw was made on Friday and we drew Internazionale of Milan. This is a tough draw but it was never going to be easy given that we finished second in our group. Inter are a great side, full of talent. Mancini is a clever manager who's managed to get his own way with minimal interference from Moratti. Zlatan is one of the best forwards in the game and will cause us problems. This match and Arsenal's with AC Milan are the ties of the round and very hard to call. I can't wait for February.

There are rumours doing the rounds online that we're going to sell a few players and put in a bid for Villa at Valencia. I think that this is pure speculation. It does sound like he's not happy there while Koeman rocks the boat but I can't see Rafa paying the required £20m plus for him, especially as he'd be cup tied in the champions league. I think that we'll only do small business in Jan. We may sell a few and sign a defender but I can't see us splashing the cash for big deals.

The Irish Independent had an interview with James McCarthy today. He's been heavily linked with us in the past but has yet to make a decision about his club future but he's declared for Ireland which is a bonus.

Enjoy your Christmas dinner and let's hope that we're in a festive mood after the Derby game on Wednesday.

I go away for one week and it all hell breaks loose. Rafa and Pako have decided to split after 11 years and go their separate ways. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

But while there was turmoil off the pitch, on it there was the kind of ruthless attacking display which we haven't seen at Anfield in a while. It's common for us to beat teams but rare for us to put them to the sword in such a convincing manner. Often we would take our foot off the pedal once the game was won. Not so against Derby. Derby were happy to sit back and defend but it didn't do them much good. We attacked with wave after wave of devestating penetration. By halftime it was 3-0 and 6-0 at full time. Torres and Alonso scored a brace each with Voronin and Babel adding the other two. Rout complete and job done.

Funnily, some people are still saying that Torres a) is overrated b) is overpriced (a potential £18m which is in the same bracket as Bent or Anderson) c) is a Spanish striker and therefore will never adapt. He's now scored three goals in four matches and is looking fantastic. Have a read of this for a great Torres interview.

Liverpool travel to Fratten Park to face Portsmouth on Sat at 12.45. This has been a tough fixture for us in the past but I expect us to be able to win here. It won't be 6-0 but it could well be a 2-0 or 2-1. Let's hope that we don't get any injuries on wed and that Carra and Finnan have recovered in time for kick off.

There was one signing before transfer deadline day in Damien Plessi who's a 19 year old french midfielder. He's joined from Lyon and will be playing with the reserves this season. Given the amount of young midfielders and centre halves that we've bought recently, we'll have to play to 5-5-0 formation with the reserves.

The big news off the pitch was that assistant manager and fitness guru Pako Ayestarán has left the club. I'm a bit surprised about this but Ballague was talking about him on the Game podcast. He said that the pair haven't been getting on for a while. It seems that Pako will not be directly replaced and his duties will be shared among Alex Miller, Paco De Miguel and the other coaches, at least for the moment.

I didn't get to see the Irish match on Sat as I was sat in Firenze, enjoying the sunshine. Managed to take in the Italy v France match which was decent but lacked a goal. Tuscany kicks Ireland's ass any day of the week. Oh for more fantastic meals and wine at low prices.

Buona sera.

When Bill Shankley said that football was more important than life and death, I suspect that his tongue was firmly in his cheek. Occasions like last night can bring that home. The murder of 11 year old Rhys Jones shook Merseyside to the core. But at Goodison on Saturday and at Anfield last night, the two halves of the city came together in grief and to pay respect to the Jones family. As anyone who's lost a family member can tell you, people showing support won't ease the pain, but it can help to get you through. Tony Barrett has a great piece on the merseyside rivalry in the Liverpool Echo today. I hope that this once friendly rivalry can shed the bitterness and vitriol that have crept into it in recent years. Maybe events like the playing of Everton's theme from Z Cars at Anfield can help to warm relations.

To the match itself, we have to be fairly happy with a 4-0 win. Crouch got scoring underway with a tap in after some fine work on the wing from Benayoun and Kuyt who delivered an amazing cross to the far post from the right. Crouch had a few other decent chances to bump up the score but it remained 1-0 until the second half. Sami showed him how it's done when he got a free header in the area. Kuyt was rewarded with two goals towards the end. He had a great match and it was no less than he deserved. He had hit the bar earlier in the match so I was happy to see him get his season's account under way.



Kuyt and Benayoun were the two major stars of the game for me. Yossi started on the right but drifted infield and outfield at will. He has the ability to glide past defenders as if they weren't there. It's a joy to watch and the Anfield faithful were suitably impressed.

Seb Leto got a run out on the left wing for the first time in a competitive match. He looked a game lad to me and did ok considering his age and lack of English experience. I would imagine that he'll be a Carling Cup and FA Cup player this year.

Derby County visit Anfield on Sat for what should be a routine win. They, along with Wigan, were my two tips for relegation. I think that Stevie and Carra should be alright to sit this one out. Rafa will feel that he can rotate his team from Sunderland a bit and still have enough to beat them handily enough.

By Saturday, the transfer window will be closed. There is some speculation that we'll go for a defender given Carra's injury and missing out on Heinze. Chiellini is still being linked and would be perfect but it's all gone quiet at the moment. I wouldn't be too surprised if we don't make any moves and go with what we have. Some websites have been linking us with a bid for Julio Baptista with is pure bollocks in my view.

I'm off to Tuscany on holidays for ten days on Friday so there may not be any updates until the Portsmouth game. Arrivederci.

Last season it took Liverpool until October to get a win away from home. This year we have six points from two away matches already. I think that we played reasonably well here, but more importantly we got the result. This is a game that we would probably have drawn last season, like at Shefield Utd on the opening day. The new additions added to a more attacking attitude will give us a better chance on the road this year.

Momo's first ever goal for the club broke the deadlock and happened to be our 7000th league goal. It's another one of those meaningless stats which them media love to go on about in the buildup to each match. In Gerrard's absence, Momo played his harrassing role to perfection. The mediocre Sunderland midfield tried as they might, but Sissoko snapped at their heals. He may not be as measured in posession as Javier but nobody can hassle the oposition quite like Momo. I really rate the lad and if he can improve his distribution somewhat then he'll b e an amaing player. His goal was awesome after some clever approach work from Voronin and Pennant.

We could have had a few more goals if it hadn't of been for Gordon who was superb in the Sunderland goal. Torres could have had a hat trick against a less inspired keeper. The failure to build on our 1-0 lead despite the chances we had, led to an unessesary dose of nerves in the second half.

Voronin added the winner with three minutes to go. Nobody had said too much about him when he was signed as it was on a free transfer. Now some people think that he should be the first choice partner for Torres. Kuyt and Torres would still be my preference but I think that all of the strikers will get a lot of games give Rafa's preference for roatation.

Overall it was a good result away from Anfield. But it did come at a heavy cost as Carra broke a rib and Sami a broken snot. Hyypia should be ok to play against Toulouse tomorrow night but Carra might be out for a few weeks with his ribs. Lucklily, there is an international break after the Derby County match on Sat which should give him time to recover. The Toulouse match itself should be handy enough. We have the away goal and they didn't look very good in the first leg. I predict a 2-1 win for us.

The official site featured a letter from Luis Garcia last week. He was a great little player for us and I hope that we don't end up missing him too much this season. He was an amazing option to come off the bench or to conjure something out of nothing in european matches. His goal against Juventus in 2005 remains one of my favourite Liverpool goals of all time. He always came across well in interviews too and seems to be a genuine, brave and warm hearted soul. I hope that things go well for him at Atletico. It'd be great if he got the opportunity to return to Anfield with them at some stage.